Of Monsters, Madmen & Time Warps

We've taken the voyages of the starship Enterprise one adventure further with a series of original movie-style art print sets commemorating every episode of Star Trek, the iconic American television series that aired from 1966 to 1969.

The Original Series has become a cult classic, and its leading-edge plot lines and mores have influenced many science-fiction TV shows and movies that have followed.

Designer/illustrator Juan Ortiz talks about the inspiration for our twelfth set of Star Trek: The Original Series Art Prints, which includes:

Episode 19: Tomorrow Is Yesterday. Here a time warp throws the Enterprise back to the 20th century, forcing the crew to act strategically so as not to alter history. Ortiz designed his art print like a magazine cover. Says the artist, "It was fun to imagine myself back in 1967 designing a magazine cover with the term 'Trekkies' on it. Trekkies were new back then, so it was nice to finally include them in this [print] set."

Episode 25: The Devil in the Dark. While investigating reports of a monster that is destroying equipment and killing workers in the mining tunnels of Janus VI, Captain Kirk and his crew discover their foe to be an intelligent creature called a Horta. It turns out that the large, rock-like creature is only trying to protect its offspring. Ortiz chose not to depict the Horta. Instead, he shows one of the Horta's victims. "The smoldering imprint of a man left on the ground made for a powerful image. It's reminiscent of the shadows left behind by the bombs dropped on Japan," comments Ortiz.

Episode 69: Whom Gods Destroy. A delusional, seductive female Orion slave is the centerpiece for this art print. Unfortunately, she's eventually blown to bits by her lover, a former starship captain who's at a facility for the criminally insane. Ortiz says he was inspired by James Bond in this design.

Episode 73: The Lights of Zetar. When brightly colored, non-corporeal entities threaten to overtake the body of a lieutenant on her way to Memory Alpha, the central library for the United Federation of Planets, Captain Kirk and crew fight to save her. Notes Ortiz, "It wasn't until I got to the last scene of the episode that I was able to form an idea for this poster. Once I had it, I had to make sure that the colors didn't mimic my Trouble with Tribbles poster. The idea for a spotlight effect derived from it looking a bit flat. The spotlight and the tiny Enterprise above help add some depth to it."

The set and all others in the series will be available for a limited time only. None will be repeated or reprinted after they're gone.